Boris Becker has won six Grand Slams
Former tennis player Boris Becker (see photo gallery below)
They may be deported from the UK after being arrested for fraud, according to the country’s Home Office. According to experts, the case could set a legal precedent in the post-Brexit era, which has toughened immigration law for EU citizens.
The former Wimbledon champion was arrested last week after being sentenced to two and a half years in prison for concealing £2.5m of assets and loans to avoid paying debts.
According to the British newspaper The Guardian, a spokesman for the British Home Office said that “any foreign national who is convicted of an offense and sentenced to imprisonment is considered to be deported at the earliest opportunity.”
The authorities can argue that Baker’s criminal offenses continued after the deal was implemented for the UK to leave the European Union in December 2020.
The former athlete is believed to have failed to obtain British citizenship and therefore could face deportation under the earlier, more lenient version of the UK Borders Act 2007, the UK Immigration and Asylum Act.
According to experts, if the court finds that Baker’s criminal behavior occurred after December 31, 2020, he will be subject to automatic deportation. The former athlete can appeal on human rights grounds. However, recent cases of people who have been deported despite having lived in the UK much longer than Baker reveal the difficulty of success.
– If the behavior occurs before that date, it benefits from the protection of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement. Immigration lawyer Colin Yeo told the Guardian that the Home Office will likely try to deport him, but he will have a stronger legal case to stay.
the case
Baker was convicted in early April of four counts under UK insolvency law, including failure to disclose, concealment and removal of significant assets following bankruptcy court proceedings.
The former player was acquitted of 20 other charges, including nine over his failure to hand in tennis cups and medals, including two from Wimbledon.
The former tennis player, holder of six Grand Slam titles, has denied breaching the country’s bankruptcy laws after declaring bankruptcy in 2017, when he owed nearly 50 million pounds to creditors, according to the BBC.
The six-time Grand Slam champion was found guilty of transferring money to his ex-wife Barbara and his wife, from whom he is currently separated, after they went bankrupt in 2017.
